friendship

friend⋅ship

  [frend-ship] Show IPA

–noun

1.	the state of being a friend; association as friends: to value a person's friendship.

2.	a friendly relation or intimacy.

3.

friendly feeling or disposition. Above is the definition for friendship found on dictionary.com. The definition is pretty simple and straightforward. But, for some reason, we still miss it and get it wrong A LOT! Especially me. I think my biggest downfall is expecting the world of my friends and not loving every part about them. I only love the good things and when their flaws show it's hard for me to deal. But the fact of the matter is, nobody's perfect, not me, not you, not anybody living on this earth. Wait, I take that back, there is one, and He is my best friend, He is absolutely perfect, He is holy, and He is my Jesus. He is quite the best friend, after all, He does promise to never leave us, and He is one for promises. But, other than Him, no one is perfect. I think the Lord is truly teaching me to love every aspect of my friends and to just let go and let Him take the control. His will will be done and I trust that. It's definitely hard sometimes cause I want to always fix a broken relationship, but, sometimes its just not ours to fix, it's His. And He promises to take care of us. He is also teaching me to apologize and be sincere and genuine no matter what. The Lord sees our true heart and that's all that matters. He is there, holding us up every step of the way. I am really praying and trying my darnest to let Him have total control. His plan will be sought out and the devil's plan will be destructed. I challenge all of you to give Jesus your friendships, all of your relationships, wrap them up in a box with a big pink bow and hand them over to Him. Allow Him to be the God of every aspect of your life including relationships. He promises to take care of us always, trust Him and trust His word forever!

Everything Happens for a Reason

This morning, I led a Small Group for 6, 7, & 8 grade girls. The lesson came from Luke, Chapter 5, when Jesus meets up with Levi. Levi is a tax collector and the teachers, during this time, thought of Levi as a slimy low life. Jesus told Levi to follow him and he did. Levi threw a dinner for Jesus. Jesus, of course, accepted his invite and went to dinner with Levi and other tax collectors. The teachers asked why they were having dinner with such lowlifes and Jesus simply replied He was sent to show repentance and salvation to all sinners. Somehow, I missed, in the 21 years growing up in a Southern Baptist church, that our Levi here, actually becomes Matthew. Wow! Matthew, one of the twelve and one that went to share the gospel. Imagine if Jesus didn't spend time with "lowlifes." There would be no Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, it would be Mark, Luke, John, and, Matthew wouldn't have gotten to do all the good the Lord had planned for him. But, that's just it, the Lord planned Jesus to meet Levi, Levi later become Matthew, and Matthew share the gospel with the world. How super cool is it that Jesus partied with average people, sinners, just like you and me. And how grateful are for that because he made disciples through average people, sinners. Let the Lord work His perfect will in your life, He sometimes seems unfair and we become really confused but the fact of the matter is, God loves each of us and sees the whole picture. He sees the whole painting, after all, He is the artist. Allow the Lord to make a disciple in you, and go and make disciples for Him. It was quite amazing to see God work today. Our morning Small Group went right along with Pastor Chris' sermon, and then along with our College & Career Small Group. I really hope I'm not rambling but I'm just so excited about my God and all He is doing. He is truly working and has major plans. He is holy, powerful, and all-knowing. He is incredible and miraculous. He is God and He is love. He has an incredible plan set out for each of us and did before He even formed us in our mother's womb. Our God knows what is best for us. It sometimes, or a lot of times, seems unfair and we wonder and question, but the fact of the matter is, He is God and He is holier than anything or anyone we could ever imagine, it's His will and His deed will be done in the end.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day

So... it is exactly 11:45 and Valentine's Day is in exactly 15 minutes! It may be a little odd to have my first blog ever being about Valentine's Day but Valentine's Day, to me, is a very special day! It's the one day out of the year that is all about hearts and love! And, I love, love! : ) But, not just the puppy love, gushy love, but all love! Yes, I am loved by the most wonderful man on earth, Caleb, and I love him dearly and absolutely cannot wait to spend our 5th Valentine's Day together and, of course, MARRY HIM! : ) But, that's for another blog! Love is why we are each here today. Because our God loves us so much, He sent His only Son to die for us to show us that love so that we may one day rejoice with Him in heaven! God is Love and Love is Real! Maybe a little simple but it's the truth! God is not only the author of love, he is love!

"Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn't love doesn't know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

Ahhh, this, is sooo incredible! Our God is love!

I'm currently doing a Small Group with a group of my girlfriends where we are reading through "God Girl," by Hayley DiMarco together. The entire book is teaching us how to become the God Girl. Chapter 2 is all about love. Again, I love, love, so this chapter is so exciting and means so much to me! The title of the chapter is "A Girl who knows Love." How awesome! The God Girl knows, and sees love everywhere and in everybody. This chapter goes through the different relationships girls share, whether it be with her family, friends, boys, enemies, or strangers, the God Girl loves through God's love. I want to challenge, my total of 2 followers, to love with God's love. Make sure everyday, not just heart's day, you are loving with God's love with everyone you come in contact with. No, it's not at all easy, but through the Lord and with his guidance, it is possible!

"Love is the best way to describe God." (God Girl)

That's all for tonight my friends! Love you all very much, and please never forget, our God reigns and He is a holy, jealous, and LOVING God!